The Siren Depths is the third of Martha Well’s Raksura novels, which start with The Cloud Roads. This series takes place in a completely different fantasy world, one where there are no humans or other recognizable species. The main characters are all Raksura, a race of shapeshifters.

Moon, the protagonist, spent the majority of his life as a lone wanderer with no idea of even what species he was. Since then he has been reunited with his own species and has become the consort to Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud court. But now Moon’s original court has surfaced, and they are laying claim to him, just when he’d found a place where he finally thought he belonged.

The Siren Depths is my favorite of the Raksura novels so far due to how much it digs into Moon’s emotional and psychological issues. He’s basically spent his life being rejected, as one groundling settlement after another would realize he was something different (possibly mistaking him for one of the evil Fell) and casting him out, sometimes violently. When he’s being taken away from Indigo Cloud, he believes that it’s happening again, despite Jade’s promise that she will follow to get him back. His fears are exacerbated by the fact a new consort was sent to replace him and that he and Jade haven’t had a clutch yet. Did anyone at Indigo Cloud care for him or were they only accepting him because they desperately needed a consort?

Additionally, he has to confront what he finds in the court of his birth. This includes the introduction new characters, some whom I dearly love (Shade!). There’s also his old court’s history with the Fell and an impending invasion by those evil counterparts who’ve been experimenting with crossbreeding with the Raksura… for reasons that are revealed in The Siren Depths.

In my reviews of the prior two novels, I complained about having trouble keeping track of the secondary characters. For whatever reason, everything clicked into place for me with this book in regard to characters.

As always, the world of the Raksura is incredibly imaginative. There’s flying ships and cities carved into cliff sides and built beneath the sea. After all, this is a series about “matriarchal bisexual shapeshifting flying lizard people." Imagination is to be expected. What’s remarkable is how wonderfully Well’s pulls it off. Her world is beautiful and wholly believable, as strange and alien as it is.

The Raksura books are a series that really puts the “fantastic” in fantasy. It’s so very different from everything else out there, and so very good. I highly recommend them.

The final instalment in this series is excellent. I think I may like it best of the entire series. It is certainly as good as the first book. I think one of the main reasons is that this books concentrates on the Raksura. There is quite a bit about Indigo Cloud, Moon's (the main character's) home, and then there is also a lot about his ancestral home. It has all the good points of the previous two books (original world, great non-humans, good characters, extremely egalitarian society (meaning remarkably little chauvinism))and it concentrates on all the things I liked about the previous books. Moon's emotional journey continues, and he finally learns about his family. The give and take of his relationship with his new family and his chosen family (Indigo Cloud) is well described. I felt some indignation for Moon's sake because of his mother's presumptions, but although it felt odd to me, it clearly was normal behavior for the Raksura. A lovely book, and a good conclusion to the series! ( )

Moon is still finding his place among the Raksura (its been a mere 6 months since discovering his own species and beginning to live among them), and his still somewhat rocky relationship with his consort, Jade, when his world is turned again on its head. A distant court has learned of him, and claims him as theirs, forcing him to leave the only people he ever felt he belongs with, and return to the court of his birth. There, Moon is forced to confront his barely remembered past, and his place among his own people.

This is an excellent story. You do not need to have read her previous two books in the series to be able to follow along, although having read them, the story is much enriched. Martha Wells continually impresses me with the quality of her writing and worldbuilding. It still amazes me that she can make me care so deeply about characters who are humanoid--not human--and live in a world so incredibly different from our own.

Give this book, and series, a try if you want a completely different kind of fantasy read. ( )

The Books of the Raksura follow adventures of a male shifter Moon in a imaginary world of Three Realms. After events in [b:The Cloud Roads|9461562|The Cloud Roads (Books of the Raksura, #1)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317017378s/9461562.jpg|14346450] and [b:The Serpent Sea|11834447|The Serpent Sea (Books of the Raksura #2)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344908440s/11834447.jpg|16789468], Moon finally settled down as a consort to a Jade, sister queen of Indigo Cloud court. They have successfully fled from their enemies, The Fell, and reclaimed and repaired their old home. But rest is still not in the cards for Moon, because in [b:The Siren Depths|13649197|The Siren Depths (Books of the Raksura, #3)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340294868s/13649197.jpg|19268638] Martha Wells will finally tackle the biggest mystery - what really happened to Moon's birth court and why was he abandoned to survive alone in the wild.

Be prepared to be left without a breath as you discover new enchanting secrets and areas of the Three Realms. There will be more floating islands, ancient ruins, underwater cities, flying boats and new unusual species for you to encounter. I was again amazed and impressed with the amount of imagination and originality that Martha Wells invested into world building. She definitely achieved a new level of high fantasy with this series. I mean, just look at the Raksura:

The Raksura by Jessica Peffer [image source]Yes, this is the species that main characters belong to. Wings, scales, disemboweling claws, they are definitely not something that you will encounter everyday.

A lot of Raksura's customs are weird and it takes some time getting used to their behavior. Sometimes, this did not allow me to understand or sympathize with Moon and Jade as much as I wanted to, but it's a small price to pay for such unique experience and it could not diminish my enjoyment in this series. Also I am glad that [b:The Siren Depths|13649197|The Siren Depths (Books of the Raksura, #3)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340294868s/13649197.jpg|19268638] is more focused on Moon's and Jade's relationship. A lot of things about their reactions and feelings were explained and I think I understand Raksura's matriarchal society structure a lot better now.

Martha Wells wrote another breath-taking sequel to the Books of the Raksura series. Although, the ending is not a cliffhanger and all major mysteries and problems in Moon's life are now resolved, I still hope that she will write more novels about Raksura in the future. The world of Three Realms is too beautiful to be abandoned.

My rating: 4.5 stars

I recommend this book to fans of: fantasy who are looking for something fresh, unique and original.

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.( )

Wikipedia in English (1)

"All his life, Moon roamed the Three Worlds, a solitary wanderer forced to hide his true nature -- until he was reunited with his own kind, the Raksura, and found a new life as consort to Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud court. But now a rival court has laid claim to him, and Jade may or may not be willing to fight for him. Beset by doubts, Moon must travel in the company of strangers to a distant realm where he will finally face the forgotten secrets of his past, even as an old enemy returns with a vengeance. The Fell, a vicious race of shape-shifting predators, menaces groundlings and Raksura alike. Determined to crossbreed with the Raksura for arcane purposes, they are driven by an ancient voice that cries out from ... The siren depths"--Back cover.… (more)